Powerball jackpot up to $500M for tonight’s drawing

The jackpot in the Powerball lottery has ballooned to an estimated $500 million ahead of its drawing on Wednesday, making it the sixth largest payout in North American history, the operator of the multistate game said.

A woman holds a purchased Powerball lottery ticket in the Manhattan borough of New York January 5, 2016. Powerball's jackpot has surged to an estimated $450 million after the first drawing of the new year resulted in no winning ticket holders, the operator of the multistate game said on Sunday. Powerball, played in 44 states, two U.S. territories and Washington, D.C., will hold its next drawing on Wednesday, giving players another crack at the grand prize. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

Powerball lottery tickets sit on the counter in a store in the Manhattan borough of New York January 5, 2016. Powerball's jackpot has surged to an estimated $450 million after the first drawing of the new year resulted in no winning ticket holders, the operator of the multistate game said on Sunday. Powerball, played in 44 states, two U.S. territories and Washington, D.C., will hold its next drawing on Wednesday, giving players another crack at the grand prize. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

A man buys tickets for the Wednesday January 6 Powerball lottery drawing at a convenience store in the Manhattan borough of New York City, January 6, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Segar

The jackpot in the Powerball lottery has ballooned to an estimated $500 million ahead of its drawing on Wednesday, making it the sixth largest payout in North American history, the operator of the multistate game said.

The current jackpot for Powerball, played in 44 states, Washington, and two U.S. territories, is worth $306 million if a winner chooses an immediate cash payout instead of annual payments over 30 years, the Multi-State Lottery Association said.

The last Powerball jackpot winner was in November, when a ticket holder from Tennessee claimed a $144.1 million prize. However, that was far smaller than last year’s biggest jackpots of $564.1 million in February and $310.5 million in September.

The largest-ever U.S. lottery jackpot payout was in March 2012, when $656 million was won in a Mega Millions drawing.

No Powerball ticket holder had all six numbers in the previous drawing on Saturday, although more than 2 million ticket holders won smaller prizes totaling nearly $21 million, according to the lottery website. Five players matched five of the six numbers.